For this project, GHA acted as contractor, architect and developer of a comprehensive green renovation to an existing 4200 sf commercial/retail building. The project adds 1000 sf with multiple uses, including Alchemy Collective Cafe & Roaster, a ceramics studio, and office space for numerous design professionals including GHA, while preserving a music recording studio.
1743 Alcatraz “Before”. The building was a music recording studio in the heart of South Berkeley for almost 50 years. The Green Alcatraz project preserves and modernizes the sound recording spaces.
Alchemy Collective Cafe & Roaster has become a hub for the community, hosting events as well as serving great coffee.
Painted by well-known Berkeley activist-muralist Edythe Boone and Youth Spirit Artworks prior to GHA’s development of the property, the mural along Ellis St. was preserved in recognition of the rich cultural history of the community.
Two small courtyards and a new hallway introduce daylight into the heart of the building.
New second-story offices are naturally ventilated and daylit.
The renovation introduces a 15kW photovoltaic array, heat-pump heating and cooling at the ground floor, a high efficiency boiler and radiant heat at second floor and upgrades to the building envelope and structure.
General Contractor - collaboration between Forgette Construction & GHA, Structural Engineer iAssociates, Mechanical Engineer EDesignC